Titewhai says time to settle

The 80 year-old Ngapuhi iwi kuia, Titewhai Harawira, says now is the time for the country’s largest Maori tribe to settle its claim with the Crown to redress grievances under the Treaty of Waitangi.

In the latest sign that the 125,000-strong iwi may settle ahead of this year’s general election, Harawira issued a two-page statement under the letterhead of Tuhornuku, the independent authority mandated to settle the claims after years of friction that have not fully subsided between competing elements of the tribe.

Most members of Ngapuhi who voted, voted to settle and recognise the mandate of the negotiators. A small minority are opposed, but it is very significant that Titewhai is not one of them, and even she is in favour of the settlement occurring.

An extract from her release:

Ngāpuhi are ready to talk to the Crown about settling, says Ngāpuhi Kuia and leader Titewhai Harawira.

“I have travelled and talked to Ngāpuhi from Hokianga to Invercargill and all stops in between. And I’ve heard what our people want. They want to get on with settlement.

“We are by far the biggest Iwi and we should be having input and influence over everything that is happening in our country”. …

Overwhelmingly, our people want to settle. We want to put the grievances behind us so we can become strong again as a people, as we were before colonisation.

“It is time for Ngāpuhi to take its rightful place in the leadership of our nation. Settlement will do this – it will advance our people in every way, in education, health, economically and culturally.

Said Mrs Harawira: “A Treaty settlement for all Ngāpuhi will transform Northland’s Iwi into an economic powerhouse, in a way other tribes have done for their regions further south.

There’s a fair amount I don’t agree with Titewhai on. But when she says it is time to settle and use the money to improve the economy, health and education of the Ngapuhi people, she is right. They are the only remaining major Iwi to settle, and it will be great if it does occur in the next couple of years.

wiseowl

Brian Marshall

It’s very important that any settlement be based on genuine breaches of the treaty and not as I heard some ridiculous numbers mentioned around Waitangi Day, on the tribes population compared to other settlements. Mind you many of the bigger settlements hadn’t taken into account settlements already made 60 or so years ago or the breaches by Maori.

Full, Final are the only conditions I want to hear when this deal and the remaining outstanding settlements are done. It is past time to end the Settlement process and progress NZ as one country under the rule of our sovereign parliament.
I personally had a huge sympathy for the Maori cause growing up – Bastion Point, Raglan Golf Course being the two prominent flashpoints as I grew into Adulthood through the early 80’s. I could understand the grievance and pain
But my sympathy has dwindled as I have observed the never ending claims for items that Maori have no call on: Radio Waves, TV, Water, taniwha appearing everywhere and needing placating. It has dwindled further when I have heard the mutterings of Hone Kaa and Margaret Mutu that Maori can’t be racist – what utter tosh!!!
Settle now and shut the process down for good. Then let the natural fermentation of the peoples of NZ occur at its own pace – the power of sexual attraction means as a nation our bloodlines will be further mixed until we ultimately are one people …

Tauhei Notts

Let the procrastination continue over Ngapuhi claims.
My dream is that with the burgeoning Asian migration to our country, the numbers will reach a suitable level and the Asians will say;
“Get rid of this Maori excrement. We are all New Zealanders now!”

itstricky

Wow. I haven’t heard some of those comments since the 1950s. Some of them since the 1800s. What a bunch of backward looking moaning self absorbed codswallop. Some people will never be pleased. Be thankful that’s she has seen the light and has sought consensus to ‘move on’. They call this ‘progress’

Doc

“We want to put the grievances behind us so we can become strong again as a people, as we were before colonisation”

A strong people eh? Ngapuhi were a cowering and impoverished people, and were the very people who BEGGED the British Empire to colonise NZ so that they might be protected, and enjoy the benefits of modern technology (as is was at the time).

This was their plea to King William in 1831:

TO KING WILLIAM, THE GRACIOUS CHIEF OF ENGLAND

KING WILLIAM — We, the chiefs of New Zealand assembled at this place, called the Kerikeri, write to thee, for we hear that thou art the great chief of the other side of the water, since the many ships which come to our land are from thee.

We are a people without possessions.

We have nothing but timber, flax, pork and potatoes, we sell these things, however, to your people, and then we see property of the Europeans.

It is only thy land which is liberal towards us.

From thee also come the Missionaries who teach us to believe on Jehovah God, and on Jesus Christ His Son.

We have heard that the tribe of Marian [the French] is at hand coming to take away our land, therefore we pray thee to become our friend and the guardian of these Islands, lest through the teazing of other tribes should come war to us, and lest strangers should come and take away our land.

And if any of thy people should be troublesome or vicious towards us (for some persons are living here who have run away from ships), we pray thee to be angry with them that they may be obedient, lest the anger of the people of this land fall upon them.

Roflcopter

nocommentkiwi (32 comments) says:
March 4th, 2014 at 8:28 am

Well of course Titewhai would make these comments, she is on the board of Tuhoronuku.

No. At the point that Tūhoronuku was made the mandated authority, the existing board essentially dissolved. It is now a shell holding the mandate to settle, with the existing board in a caretaker role only.

The next stage is for Ngāpuhi people themselves to elect their representatives into Tūhoronuku…. expect some fireworks.

RRM

The whole Bay of Islands is crawling with aging expat poms, who’ve sold everything to move here and build their retirement palaces on a couple of acres in the sun.

They seem to think it’s a bit like Tuscany or Spain… only without the food and cultcha… but that too seems to be coming. I reckon there would be good money in catering to the wants of these people, and encouraging more and more of them!

peterwn

Well, this shows Matt McCarten was right out of touch on this. As far as I remember, Chris Finlayson met with some elders during Waitangi Day celebrations. Matt in his HoS article wondered why they did not put the ‘little twerp’ in his place. Matt might get away with this when dealing with a McDonalds shop manager or franchisee, but such negotiating tactics are unlikely to bet best results for Treaty claims.

thedavincimode

It is time for Ngāpuhi the Harawira whanau to take its rightful place in the leadership of our nation. Settlement will do this – it will advance our people whanau in every way, in education, health, economically and culturally.

Said Mrs Harawira: “A Treaty settlement for all Ngāpuhi will transform Northland’s Iwi the Harawira whanau into an economic powerhouse, in a way other tribes whanau have done for their regions further south.

s.russell

Ngai Tahu signed a deed of settlement in 1998 and got $170m. Ngai Tahu Holdings now has around $1billion in assets and has distributed hundreds of millions. It seems to me that Ngapuhi have paid a heavy price for their squabbling and delay. They will start a long way behind.

Tinshed

Jack5

There will never be final settlement. Consider treaty payments in terms of Rudyard Kipling’s Poem:

Dane-Geld
A.D. 980-1016

It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation
To call upon a neighbour and to say: —
“We invaded you last night–we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away.”

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you’ve only to pay ’em the Dane-geld
And then you’ll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation for a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say: —
“Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away.”

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we’ve proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray;
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say: —

“We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that pays it is lost!”

Jack5

Re S. Russell’s post on Ngai Tahu’s treaty booty:

Ngai Tahu had present Treaty Minister Chris Finlayson as its negotiator, and it’s had a top-up settlement in the last year.

There’s no way the Northland tribe will get first and second rights to buy Northland Crown assets for ever (as Ngai Tahu has in the South Island). And if Ngapuhi get the advantage Ngai Tahu has of group charity registration providing tax-free business operation, then that will be the end of tax-free charities in NZ.